Married men deserve our blessing if they can balance the priesthood with family life

Independent.ie

AT my local Easter Mass, the parish priest finished the ceremonies with a somewhat weary coda: God be with the days, he said, when a priest only had to say one Mass for Sunday. Now he has to say three Masses over Saturday night and Sunday morning. Exhausting!

AT my local Easter Mass, the parish priest finished the ceremonies with a somewhat weary coda: God be with the days, he said, when a priest only had to say one Mass for Sunday. Now he has to say three Masses over Saturday night and Sunday morning. Exhausting!

Unconsciously, he could hardly have given stronger support for a movement that is gradually building momentum within the Catholic Church – to ordain more married men.

The Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland said last week that Catholics would soon face a situation where there were no priests to say Mass at all, unless married men are ordained in greater numbers. In England and Wales, there have also been calls from bishops to widen the grounds for married men.

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